Welcome to Ask A Biologist. This site has a large collection of biology learning materials that includes stories, games, activities, videos, and a podcast.

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Microbes are all around us, and some have the power to hurt or to help. Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown studies the ability of microbes to help, whether deep in our guts or in the environment.Also in: Español
The microbes that live inside us affect more about our lives than we might think. Taichi Suzuki is learning how these hitchhikers have been changing alongside humans.

Mosquitoes are more than just a bother - in many cases, they can be dangerous. Arm yourself against mosquitoes with knowledge of their life cycle, the diseases they carry, and how you can fight them. Also in: Español |

An interview with biologist Tina Wilson from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix Arizona. Listen in as Dr. Biology learns how cacti and other desert plants keep their cool.

Imagine you want to pull a long cylinder-shaped piece of soil (called a core) out of the ground in your backyard. What kind of tools would you need? Find out how researchers collect cores in the Frozen Arctic.

Summer ice. Besides being cold and hard, it turns out to be critical for life on Earth. But what is it about this ice that makes it more important than other ice? Dr. Biology sits down with scientist Stephanie Pfirman to talk about summer ice and how the amount we see is shrinking…

There is more to our memory than you might think. In fact, we have three types of memory. Just how these memory systems work, and work together is the subject of this episode. We also learn that there are sometimes errors in our memory. Take a few minutes to learn how we remember things and even…

Can a transformed 4-acre former citrus orchard become a vibrant urban wildlife sanctuary? Dr. Biology is out of the studio to explore Julie Stromberg's remarkable riparian garden. Julie, a plant ecologist and emeritus professor at Arizona State University, shares her motivations…

Comparative physiology game

Frankenstein's Lab

Play Frankenstein's Lab. Dr. Frankenstein needs your help to learn about how the bodies of different animals work! Build your own creature from 3-D…
puzzle pieces with a two headed snake on them

Two Headed Snake

Read The Tale of the Two-Headed Lampropeltis getula californiae and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Bone Zoom Gallery (Up-close Inside Bones)

Take a look at the microscopic world of bone in our virtual bone histology lab. Just pick a microscope slide from below and click on it to view under the virtual microscope.

Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)

Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.

Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)

Plankton comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.

Feather Zoom Gallery (Feathers up-close)

There is nothing like seeing a feather up close.

Two ants carrying a puzzle piece

Ants

There are so many types of ants that it's funny the animated movie about them centers on one type that doesn't exist: a male worker ant. In this story you can explore some of the types of ants…

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Itty Bitty Beasts

Itty Bitty Beasts

Tardigrades are some of the toughest animals on earth. They can survive freezing, drying up, radiation, and space, all while being smaller than the tip of a pencil.

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Time traveling seeds

Time Traveling Plants

Every year billions of babies are dried and buried, not to be unburied for weeks, months, years or even decades. Don't worry, these are not babies like your little brother or sister, these are…

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Orchid bee

Bee Jeweled

Orchid bees come in an amazing array of shapes and colors. You could call them the jewels of the bee kingdom. Also in: Nederlands |

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